Styling tools are a necessary evil. We need them to keep our hair beautiful but too much of them can be really bad for hair health.
We will show you how to have the best of both worlds, i.e use heat tools and still have gorgeous hair. You can protect your hair from heat damage by following these tips below:
Use a heat protectant
Heat protectants are designed to protect the hair from getting damaged by direct heat. You should never use heat tools without a heat protectant especially if you’re straightening your hair. Your hair can actually get burnt without you realising it and begin to break later.
You can get a heat protectant here from N2,700.
(Photo: allure.com)
Invest in good styling tools
Most salons buy hair tools that are of poor quality and can damage your hair in the long run, so it’s a good idea to buy yours. You should only buy hair straighteners and iron curlers with adjustable temperatures. That way it’s pretty easy to regulate and use the right temperature for your hair.
(Photo: ghdhair.com)
Use the right temperature for your hair
This is super important and again especially with hair straighteners and curlers. The safest temperature to straighten fine thin hair is between 300-380, while for thick coarse hair it’s 360-410 degrees. If you’re getting your hair done at a salon, ensure they use the right temperature for your hair texture. Your hair begins to burn at 451 degrees so if your hair tools aren’t adjustable, you wouldn’t know if your straightener has gotten to the ”boiling point”. So you could actually be deep frying your hair and not know it.
Also with hair dryers, try to use it on the low to medium setting instead. And don’t have it too close to your hair.
(Photo: kingsoaklane.com)
Minimize the use of heat tools
This should go without saying but we’re going to say it anyway. Styling tools are not good for the hair in the long run so you should go easy using them. Don’t straighten your hair more than once every three months. And try to air-dry your hair as often as you can as opposed to always using dryers.
Following these tips religiously will protect your hair from heat damage which can cause breakage. But do you know the difference between hair shedding and breakage? Find out here.
(Featured image: girlswithnaturalhair.com)